The Collington Silt Warriors

Karen Boyce launched our reporting on the silt amelioration project with this photo and the below information about the group that is spearheading the work:

The Clean Water Partnership is a Public-Private Partnership (P3) between Prince George’s County and Corvias. The CWP is the first of its kind to design, build, finance, operate and maintain urban stormwater infrastructure to meet MS4 regulatory requirements and is committed to retrofit up to 4,000 impervious acres.

So your investigative team, soil and water expert Jacob Kijne and I, wandered down and gathered more provisional information — and some more photos, about this important work.

The idea is that the incoming silt-laden water is slowed down by the rocks, and drops its load of silt into the area between the inlet and the rocks. The rocks, by the way, are kept in “cages” of PVC coated cable, so the containers will not rot. Every few years, the trapped silt can easily then be removed. The rocks will be much less visible than now, since they should be largely covered by water one water is allowed back into the lake.

Obviously, we can not plant trees directly onto the rocks, but maybe we will be able to think of some ways that we can use the new feature as an opportunity. Maybe we need a “Lake Group,” just like we have a “Courtyard Group.” Time for some Collington creativity. Part of the opportunity is to think about how we can apply the emerging goal and value themes of the strategic planning process to an exploration of the lake’s potential — boat trips for staff kids, sustaining our water? Educational programs from our experts? More ideas? It is perfect that our new horticulturalist will be onboard soon and can help us think about the relationship between our values and our landscape resources.